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Nominees for the 2026 Illinois High School Musical Theatre Awards Announced!

Broadway In Chicago is delighted to announce the 24 student nominees for Best Performer in an Actor and Actress role, Backstage Champion Award (presented by Banner Kitchen & Bath Showroom), and nominees for Best Ensemble, Best Direction and Best Production for the 2026 Broadway In Chicago Illinois High School Musical Theatre Awards (IHSMTA).

NOMINEES FOR BEST PERFORMER IN AN ACTRESS ROLE

Charlotte Dean as Delilah McPhee in Joliet West High School’s Between the Lines
Makayla Eiseman as Hope Cladwell in Cary-Grove High School’s Urinetown
Camila Flores as Janis Sarkisian in Hinsdale South High School’s Mean Girls: High School Version
Lainey Jennings as Anya in Harrisburg High School’s Anastasia
Molly Jones as Madame Thénardier in Harry D. Jacobs High School’s Les Misérables: School Edition
Tireoluwani Lawal as Brenda Strong in University High School’s Catch Me If You Can
Jane Nuich as Eurydice in Maine South High School’s Hadestown: Teen Edition
Eleanor O’Shea as Ariel in Homewood-Flossmoor High School’s Disney’s The Little Mermaid
Madeline Ranieri as Elle Woods in William Fremd High School’s Legally Blonde
Olivia Sage as Elsa in Coal City High School’s Frozen
Corinne Stewart as Countess Lily Malevsky-Malevitch in Dundee-Crown High School’s Anastasia
Melanie Vargas as Katherine Blake in Minooka Community High School’s Freaky Friday

NOMINEES FOR BEST PERFORMER IN AN ACTOR ROLE

Logan Arroyo as Will Bloom in Lincoln-Way East High School’s Big Fish: School Edition
Luke Brock as Jean Valjean in Wheaton Academy’s Les Misérables
Adam DeVerville as Gomez Addams in Hoffman Estates High School’s The Addams Family: School Edition
Jonah Groff as Joseph in Mother McAuley High School’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Joe Kaiser as Edward Bloom in Saint Viator High School’s Big Fish
Sebastián Llavona as Dmitry in Dundee-Crown High School’s Anastasia
Nolan Maddox as Roger Davis in Oak Park & River Forest High School’s RENT: School Edition
Marcus McGhee as Sebastian in Homewood-Flossmoor High School’s Disney’s The Little Mermaid
Micah Merrill as Tom Collins in Oak Park & River Forest High School’s RENT: School Edition
Brennan Monaghan as Billy Flynn in Lake Zurich High School’s Chicago: Teen Edition
John Musso as Javert in Wheaton Academy’s Les Misérables
James Sobota as Billy Flynn in The Chicago Academy for the Arts’ Chicago: Teen Edition

NOMINEES FOR BACKSTAGE CHAMPION presented by Banner Kitchen & Bath Showroom

Navion Curry, Stage Management for Belvidere North High School’s Frozen
Brynn Engle, Stage Management for Crystal Lake South High School’s Spamalot
Angela Jaeger, Student Business Director for Glenbard West High School’s Between The Lines
Ash (Harry) Komorowski, Lighting Design for Homewood-Flossmoor High School’s Disney’s The Little Mermaid
Audrey Hart, Props Design for Mother McAuley High School’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

NOMINEES FOR BEST ENSEMBLE

Adlai E. Stevenson High School’s Mary Poppins
Bradley Bourbonnais Community High School’s Jesus Christ Superstar
Dunlap High School’s Guys & Dolls
St. Charles East High School’s Newsies
Vernon Hills High School’s Seussical

NOMINEES FOR BEST DIRECTION

David Morgan, Bradley Bourbonnais Community High School’s Jesus Christ Superstar
Rob Boncosky, Cary-Grove High School’s Urinetown
Ben Stoner, Crystal Lake South High School’s Spamalot
Britnee Kenyon, Deerfield High School’s Pippin
Michelle Bayer, Oak Park & River Forest High School’s RENT: School Edition

NOMINEES FOR BEST PRODUCTION

Cary-Grove High School’s Urinetown
Coal City High School’s Frozen
Homewood-Flossmoor High School’s Disney’s The Little Mermaid
Lincoln-Way East High School’s Big Fish: School Edition
William Fremd High School’s Legally Blonde

2025 IHSMTA Student Reporters

Ivan Diaz – Plainfield East High School

Sophia Lin – Harrisburg High School

Broadway In Chicago is delighted to have high schools across the State of Illinois participate in the 15th Annual Illinois High School Musical Theatre Awards, Sponsored by NBC 5. The Broadway In Chicago Illinois High School Musical Theatre Awards (IHSMTA) celebrate excellence in high school theatre throughout the State of Illinois.

This year’s categories include Best Performer in an Actor Role, Best Performer in Actress Role, Best Production, Best Direction and Best Ensemble. Twenty-four nominees (12 in each Best Performance category) will perform on stage at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place (175 E. Chestnut) and compete in front of Chicago casting agents and theater professionals.

From the twenty-four nominees, two Illinois award recipients will go on an all-expense paid trip to New York City to represent the State of Illinois at The Jimmy Awards® and participate in a week-long theatre intensive of coaching and rehearsals with industry professionals in preparation for a one-night-only showcase on Broadway, where a panel of judges crowns the nation’s top performers. The Jimmy Awards® are named after legendary Broadway theater owner and producer James M. Nederlander. Broadway In Chicago is a Nederlander presentation and is excited be a part of a network of theatres across the country participating in The Jimmy Awards®.

Important Dates

2026 IHSMTA Ceremony Date: May 11, 2026

The Jimmy Awards®: June 22, 2026

2026 IHSMTA Participating Schools

Addison Trail High School
Adlai E. Stevenson High School
Amundsen High School
Aurora Central Catholic High School
Barrington High School
Batavia High School
Belvidere High Schools
Benet Academy
Bloom High School
Bolingbrook High School
Bradley Bourbonnais Community High School
Bremen High School
Burlington Central High School
Byron High School
Cary-Grove High School
Champaign Central High School
The Chicago Academy for the Arts
Chicago Christian High School
The Chicago High School for the Arts
Coal City High School
Crete-Monee High School
Crystal Lake Central High School
Crystal Lake South High School
Deerfield High School
Delavan High School
Dundee-Crown High School
Dunlap High School
Elgin High School
Elmwood Park High School
Evergreen Park High School
Glenbard West High School
Glenwood High School
Grayslake Central High School
Hampshire High School
Harlem High School
Harrisburg High School
Harry D. Jacobs High School
Harvard High School
Hinsdale South High School
Hoffman Estates High School
Homewood-Flossmoor High School
Intrinsic Schools – Belmont Campus
Intrinsic Schools – Downtown Campus
James B. Conant High School
Joliet West High School
Kaneland High School
Lake Forest High School
Lake Zurich High School
Lane Tech High School
Larkin High School
Lemont High School
Leyden High Schools
Libertyville High School
Lincoln-Way East High School
Lincoln-Way West High School
Loyola Academy
Maine South High School
Maine West High School
Minooka Community High School
Moline Senior High School
Morgan Park Academy
Mother McAuley High School
Nazareth Academy
North Shore Country Day School
Northside College Prep High School
Oak Lawn Community High School
Oak Park & River Forest High School
Oswego High School
Palatine High School
Paris High School
Plainfield Central High School
Plainfield East High School
Plainfield South High School
Plano High School
Providence Catholic High School
Reed-Custer High School
Robinson High School
Romeoville High School
Rosary College Prep
Saint Ignatius College Prep
Saint Viator High School
South Elgin High School
St. Charles East High School
St. Francis High School
Stillman Valley High School
Sycamore High School
Taft High School
Thornton Fractional North High School
Timothy Christian High School
Trinity High School
University High School
Urbana High School
Vernon Hills High School
Wheaton Academy
William Fremd High School

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